Best Food in Dallas – Grass-Fed vs. Conventional Beef

You may have noticed recently that many restaurants and food establishments have started making a point to label their menu items as having “grass-fed” beef. To someone who’s never taken much of an interest in where their meat comes from, these labels could be a tad confusing. Many of the differences between grass-fed and conventional beef come down to the health and treatment of the animal you’re consuming. Believe it or not, healthier animals actually do taste better and the meat is often healthier for you. After all, if you’re searching for the best food in Dallas, you want to make sure you’re getting the best quality as well as the best taste, right?

Grass-Fed vs. Conventional Beef

Unless otherwise noted on the menu, it’s safe to assume that conventional beef is typically what you’re consuming. It may be given a fancy name, like USDA Prime or USDA Choice beef, but these titles only refer to the grade of meat and level of marbling. They mean nothing as to the treatment of the animal before slaughter. These cattle are typically removed from their mother just after weaning and are transported to feedlots.

In industrial agriculture, factory farming is a common practice. These gigantic farms, where the majority of conventional beef comes from, often have cattle confined in extremely close quarters with little to no real walking room, let alone access to grazing pastures. Antibiotics are often administered routinely to otherwise healthy cattle in order to prevent them from getting sick in these overpopulated environments. Sometimes, growth hormones are given to the cattle in order to fatten them up more rapidly.

Conversely, grass-fed cattle often have a much higher quality of life. The name “grass-fed” implies that they’re granted grazing access on grass and clover, their natural diet. This is opposed to conventionally raised cattle that are made to eat mostly starches like corn and grains, which their stomachs aren’t naturally made to digest.

Because cattle can eat so much grass, they need access to large green pastures, which stands in stark contrast to conventionally raised, factory-farmed cattle that are left to shuffle around in their own manure on feedlots. The grass-fed label also implies that these cattle are administered antibiotics only when necessary and are never given growth hormones. It also means a difference in the age of the animal at the time of slaughter. While conventional cattle are often slaughtered en masse at just 12 or 13 months of age, grass-fed cattle are harvested generally around 18 or upwards of 24 months of age.

Better For You

Grass-fed beef offers many health benefits. It typically features only a third of the amount of fat in conventional beef, while offering 3-5 times the amount of CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) and 2-6 times the amount of healthy omega-3 fatty acids. In addition, a number of vitamins and micronutrients is much higher in grass-fed beef. This creates beef that has less unhealthy fat with twice the amount of nutrients than that of conventional beef.

Better for the Animal

Grass-fed cattle typically lead much happier lives than their conventionally raised counterparts. They spend much of their lives outside in the open air, free to roam and graze in open pastures. They develop much more naturally, as opposed to conventional cattle that are fattened as rapidly as possible and given a little room to roam. Grass-fed cattle breathe fresh air, drink fresh water, and eat their natural diet. This leads to an animal that is built more naturally and ultimately creates meat that is much leaner and more tender.

The Best Food in Dallas is Better the Planet Too!

Between the transportation, water usage, deforestation, and crop growth needed to sustain the industry, factory farming, and industrial agriculture is the leading contributor to carbon emissions. Grass-fed farming and ranching don’t require as many resource-consuming practices, and therefore use fewer carbon emissions, lessening the toll on the planet’s well-being.

When looking for the best food in Dallas, it’s important to remember that your dollar is your vote. Supporting establishments making a point to provide grass-fed beef to their customers send a message that you care about your own health as well as that of the environment. It also helps that grass-fed beef is so delicious!

If your idea of the best food in Dallas is a burger that packs one crazy-flavorful punch, you should make a point to visit Liberty Burger! Our burgers are unrivaled in their taste, just as being a socially and environmentally responsible restaurant is unrivaled in commitment! At Liberty Burger, all our beef is grass-fed, as well as our bison too! In addition, we make sure to responsibly source the rest of our ingredients, whether it’s chicken, turkey, lamb, vegetables, or even bread! We truly believe that in order to make the best food in Dallas, the ingredients need to be natural, local, and, most importantly, fresh! See for yourself and stop in at your local restaurant today!